[MrFlippant]

Yeah, but when you have a layout that will only come together with one more half straight in the right place and either the stores are closed or you live too far away from one to just go buy a new pack of track, a quick desolder job might be priceless.

 

[MrFlippant]

I included a powered slot for tire sanding/cleaning on my driver stations. It's a great too to have handy. I wouldn't expect everyone to go as nuts as me, so a spare bit of track with a DC power supply connected to it, or even just a 9v battery or any other battery pack on hand, is good. Have some high and low grit sandpaper on hand for sanding... I especially recommend drywall screen because it allows the rubber to be kicked down and away from the sanding surface. Also having a wet rag on hand to clean the schmutz off of tires is helpful.

 

[MrFlippant]

Here's a pic of one of my driver stations prior to wiring and installation:

The two small rectangular blocks with a slot between them is where I put some copper tape and wired through a switch directly to my power supply. During a race, I put a wet rage behind that to quickly clean tires. When I want to sand or scuff new tires, I put a small block that I glued some drywall screen to. The type of sandpaper isn't as important as constantly moving the tires back and forth and not doing it with a lot of pressure or for too long. If you don't allow the tires to stay cool, the rubber will melt and be ruined.

 

[MrFlippant]

Yeah, I definitely went all out. Somewhere to hang the controller and a dedicated plug or extension cable is really enough. A drink holder isn't a bad idea, though. ;-)